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Chapter – 09
A long silence followed.
Come to think of it…
Had I ever seriously talked with Songi about the divorce issue before?
I had always avoided it, telling myself she was still too young to understand anything.
‘Mom met another man, so she separated from Dad.’
Telling the truth was never easy.
Still…
‘…Ever since my wife got her own studio, she never really spent time playing with Songi anymore.’
Smart as she was, Songi must have sensed it from then on.
That her mother might leave her.
‘She was the one who even said with her own mouth that she would give up custody….’
“Would that be wrong?”
At that moment,
Songi’s cautious voice broke the silence.
“I want to show Mom. I want her to see me singing.”
“…Songi, let’s talk about this with Dad a little more before deciding, okay?”
It seemed the program writer hadn’t contacted Songi separately.
I felt relieved for now, but at the same time, I never realized Songi had been thinking like this.
“Mom is going to regret it….”
“…Hm?”
“She’ll regret telling me not to sing. Then… will she say she’s sorry, Dad?”
It seemed Songi…
Wanted her mother to regret everything and come back.
But even if she did come back, I couldn’t accept her anymore.
Even if she was the child’s mother.
Harsh words nearly slipped out, but I barely held them back.
Wasn’t this very situation itself an incredibly selfish thing for a father to do?
‘Songi is still at the age where she needs her mom.’
“Songi, are you… curious why Mom and Dad separated?”
“Yeah. But if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
“…Why?”
“Because I hate seeing Dad struggle more.”
Songi was only thinking about me.
While tightly hiding her own feelings.
Even if I devoted myself completely to supporting Songi’s dream, there were still things I could never provide for her.
“Sorry for saying that… Dad, you’re not mad, right?”
“Haha, mad? Of course not. I’m actually thankful you told me honestly.”
“Then… are you going to grant my wish?”
“…How about we think about it carefully first before deciding?”
“Okaay!”
Songi smiled brightly again with innocent cheerfulness.
If I were being honest, I wanted to stop her.
Tell her absolutely not.
But this time, I decided to respect Songi’s opinion too.
Still…
I felt like I needed more time to prepare myself mentally.
‘…She did try her best as a mother.’
That was how I rationalized it.
Maybe I was trying to understand her not as my wife, but as Songi’s mother.
However…
Perhaps my resentment toward her had already grown too large to romanticize the past anymore.
That day, I received a phone call.
It was a number I didn’t recognize.
I didn’t think much of it at first.
I was already getting countless calls from broadcasting station staff anyway.
But then…
“Yes, this is Jung Hwieon.”
[Are you seriously messing with me right now?]
“…”
It was a familiar voice.
At first, denial came before anything else.
No way. It can’t be her.
But soon, I steadied myself.
“…What made you call me of all people?”
[Jung Songi… you’re not seriously thinking of putting her on the program I’m hosting, are you?]
She was someone from the broadcasting station.
She was also the main MC of Tomorrow’s Best, so she must have heard the news from the PD or writers.
But to call me and immediately act like this?
“Shouldn’t you first explain what’s going on before blaming me?”
Just listening quietly was making anger rise inside me.
[Don’t pretend you don’t know, Jung Hwieon. I heard Songi received an offer to appear on Tomorrow’s Best.]
“And that’s my fault? Songi hasn’t even decided whether she’ll go on yet, so why are you taking it out on me?”
What a strange thing.
If she were a normal mother,
Wouldn’t she first be happy and congratulate Songi for singing wonderfully on a famous TV program?
But she only cared about one thing.
Whether her own career would suffer.
[…Are you doing this on purpose?]
“On purpose?”
[Putting Songi out on broadcasts.]
Maybe…
Bae Jina had already half-lost her mind.
Perhaps understandably so.
If rumors spread that she divorced because of an affair with her agency CEO, it would be disastrous.
[How many times have I told you? Absolutely no entertainment industry. Then what the hell is this?]
“What do you mean what is this? You’re not even her mother anymore, so why are you interfering in someone else’s family affairs?”
She gave up custody.
Not only that, she even rejected visitation rights.
That was why I decided not to receive child support either.
Our relationship had completely ended from that point on.
So whether Songi worked in broadcasting or not was no longer under her authority.
[You’re seriously trying to ruin me, aren’t you?]
“Calm down and talk. How long are you planning to respond emotionally?”
A rough sigh came from the other end of the phone.
The person who had called me out of nowhere to vent her anger finally seemed to calm down a little.
[…So what exactly happened? Why did Songi suddenly start singing?]
“You watched the broadcast, didn’t you?”
[…]
“Songi isn’t just singing at the level of some talent-show kid.”
If she only wanted to play at being a singer,
Then by now Songi and I would probably just be uploading a few videos to YouTube and staying in the minor leagues.
But the child had genius-level talent.
And proof of that—
The YouTube channel had already surpassed 150,000 subscribers with just one video, and the view count had exceeded 20 million.
“Songi clearly has talent. Not ordinary talent either. If she can sing this well without even training once… then as her father, I think I should help raise that talent.”
[…You think CEO Ma Gu is just going to sit quietly and let this happen?]
“What exactly are you so afraid of?”
From a normal perspective, this conversation made no sense.
At a moment like this, supporting your daughter should have come first.
So why was she trembling in fear like this?
“Why? Are you scared we’ll become even more famous and expose your affair on broadcast?”
[…Shut up!]
Her mouth was foul.
Even in the past, whenever she got angry, she cursed easily.
Yet on TV she always smiled.
It was amazing how she could force that fake smile all day long.
“Don’t worry. I have absolutely no intention of using Songi.”
[She’s only eleven! Kids that age easily reveal secrets unconsciously…!]
“Don’t worry about us and focus on yourself.”
Click!
I hung up.
Was there any need to continue the conversation?
She was a selfish mother who only cared about herself.
“…Maybe she’s not even a mother anymore.”
Honestly,
I desperately wanted to expose her problems everywhere—YouTube, the media, anything.
But I couldn’t.
Because I had a daughter and family I needed to protect.
“It’s not that I forgave you. I’m enduring it for Songi.”
If what she wanted to protect was her career,
Then what I wanted to protect was my family.
Only the goals were different.
The deposit was around 30 million won, and the monthly rent was 150,000 won.
Including soundproof construction for vocal training, producing equipment, and interior work for a personal office space, the total cost came to around 70 million won.
“…Taking out over 100 million won in loans just for one entertainment building.”
Had I ever even taken out a loan before in my life?
Our first newlywed home was only an 18-pyeong lease apartment, and even the car was used.
I had never made major investments for myself or my family.
I simply lived frugally and saved money.
“It’s for Songi.”
It was true that loans felt burdensome now that I’d lost my job and no longer had fixed income.
But thanks to a single hit song, YouTube revenue had started coming in.
Streaming, downloads from platforms, and even copyright fees were slowly accumulating too.
The income was still small.
But surely it meant the floodgates had begun to open.
Maybe that was why.
Excitement outweighed worry for the future.
“Is it already almost time for Songi to get out of school?”
Still…
More than Songi’s broadcasts or music activities, I cared more about her daily life.
After roughly finishing mopping the floor,
I immediately headed down to the parking lot to go to Songi’s school.
To get into the used car I bought together with the building lease.
Twenty minutes later.
“Classes only went up to third period today….”
When I arrived at the school, not a single student was in sight.
Wondering what happened, I hurried to the teachers’ office and fortunately met Teacher Joo Seohyeon.
But she gave me unexpected news.
“We sent an electronic notice in advance saying classes would end early today. Did you perhaps not see it?”
“I think I was too busy to check.”
I hurriedly called Songi’s phone, but—
—The person you are calling cannot answer right now. Please leave a message after the tone….
That automated message repeated over and over.
“I don’t know if this will help… but I happened to overhear something.”
At that moment,
Teacher Joo Seohyeon carefully spoke after observing my expression.
“Yes, please tell me anything.”
“Songi said today that she was going to a broadcasting station with her dad….”
“…A broadcasting station?”
Recently, we had separately met PD Song Yeonseong.
It was to discuss Songi appearing as a semi-regular guest in Part 2 of Singing Talent.
But aside from that, we hadn’t contacted any other programs yet.
Songi herself said she wanted to focus on school life and not overwork herself.
But then…
She went to a broadcasting station alone…?
“I’m not completely sure… but I think she said it was a program her mom appears on?”
“…What?!”
No way…
Did Songi personally go looking for the PD of Tomorrow’s Best?
“I’m not certain… I only overheard her talking with her friends.”
“Ah, thank you… I need to go immediately.”
“Ah, yes…! Please drive safely!”
There was no time to waste.
Because now I knew where Songi was.
About an hour later,
I finally arrived at the broadcasting station.
“What brings you here?”
Without a visitor pass, outsiders couldn’t enter the station.
Naturally, I assumed Songi would be wandering around blocked at the entrance, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Then—
A security guard approached and asked about the situation.
“Excuse me, but have you perhaps seen a little girl about this tall? Jung Songi… she’s my daughter.”
“Ah, if you mean Miss Jung Songi, she already went inside.”
“How… exactly?”
“She came saying she wanted to meet a PD. I believe someone from the staff escorted her in.”
Was I too late?
Traffic delayed me on the way here.
“Excuse me, but I’m Songi’s guardian and manager. Could I go inside?”
“…Ah, this is rather difficult.”
“Please.”
“I’ll contact upstairs first.”
I was sure of it.
If there was a PD Songi came all the way here to meet, then it had to be…
‘Tomorrow’s Best….’
Soon after—
The guard finished his call and allowed me entry.
“You can go to the fifth floor.”
The entire elevator ride made me anxious.
Surely they couldn’t decide her appearance on the show without her guardian’s permission, right?
But…
The fact that Songi came all the way here alone meant she truly desperately wanted to appear on the program.
Still…
What weighed on my mind was the phone call with my ex-wife yesterday.
She was firmly against Songi appearing on the show until the very end.
What kind of decision…
Am I supposed to make now?
